What opportunities await Cardinals minor leaguers reporting for early spring

Although most Cardinals minor leaguers don’t report for the start of minor-league camp until March 5, some have gotten an earlier start to their spring training. Outside of the non-roster invitees to the major-league side of Cardinals spring training, 36 of the club’s minor leaguers are set for their first-full squad workout of an early spring training set for Monday.

With the start of the Cardinals’ Spring Training Early Program (STEP) Camp getting underway, these are some of those prospects getting an early start to their spring:

Both left-handed pitching prospects Cooper Hjerpe and Brycen Mautz were kept out of official minor league games following last year’s MLB draft. Hjerpe, the Cardinals’ first-round pick and the 22nd overall selection in the draft, ended his final season at Oregon State University with an 11-2 record, a 2.53 ERA, and 161 strikeouts across 103 1/3 innings. The 161 strikeouts by Hjerpe were the most in NCAA Division I baseball.

The Cardinals were cautious in managing Hjerpe in his introduction to professional baseball because of the large workload. Following last summer’s draft, Hjerpe, 21, was limited to a number of bullpens and live batting practice sessions at the Cardinals’ complex down in Jupiter. The organization felt encouraged by what they saw out of the lefty.

Similarly, Mautz did not make his pro debut after the draft. Mautz — a product of the University of San Diego — was taken in the second round at 59overall. Mautz, 21, threw 90 2/3 innings and fanned 129 batters across 16 games (15 starts) in his final season with the Toreros.

As is the case with many prospects, how they perform could dictate their development timeline.

A year ago, the Cardinals’ hope for outfield prospect Joshua Baez was for him to get as many at-bats as possible. Baez, 19, was the club’s second-round pick in 2021 and was entering his first full season in the minors after he appeared in a handful of games in the Florida Complex League in 2021.

He began the year in extended spring training where he continued to train at the club’s Jupiter complex. The 19-year-old was added to Class Low-A Palm Beach’s roster in mid-May and made his debut for the affiliate with a start in center field. His debut was cut short as he struck out in his only at-bat and exited the game in the third inning with a left wrist injury. The injury sidelined him for nearly three months.

Baez rehabbed in the Florida Complex League (FCL) where he batted .237 with a home run and five RBIs in 38 at-bats. He returned to…